


it's gonna be electric

by jjokkomi



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Byun Baekhyun/Bae Joohyun side pairing, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-28
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2019-02-22 22:34:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13176612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jjokkomi/pseuds/jjokkomi
Summary: In which you get your powers after you've met your soulmate and Jongdae literally falls for his.





	it's gonna be electric

**Author's Note:**

> this was supposed to be posted for christmas LOL 
> 
>  
> 
> I just wanted to write something chensoo

Jongdae is thirteen when he first learns about soulmates. He’s in his physical education class and they all gather in the gym to watch an educational video. He supposes it’s better than that time they split up all the boys and girls and taught them about the birds and the bees, he at least doesn’t get sent home with a pamphlet about bodily changes and deodorant.

He knows what little his brother and parents have told him about soulmates, that when he meets his, he’ll get his powers. It’s a special connection that finally awakens something within them that causes the powers to appear.

But, not everyone meets their soulmate, so not everyone gets their powers. People can still go on and live happy lives without a soulmate, but Jongdae is an optimist, and he knows he’ll meet his someday.

He goes through middle school unbothered by no sign of any supernatural powers and high school is the same, but he’s young and most people don’t meet their soulmates until they’re older. So, he doesn’t get worried, knowing that once he’s at university there will be a whole new population of people his soulmate may be hiding in.

“This is going to be the year, I can feel it,” he tells Baekhyun as they walk to their first university lecture like the big kids they are.

He’s got on his new backpack, has fresh notebooks, new pens and pencils, even a new laptop his parents gave him for graduation to help with the note taking. He’s got a good feeling already and it’s just the first day. His soulmate is out there, he knows they are.

“I think I already lost my ID,” Baekhyun replies with a grumble, walking and digging through his backpack simultaneously.

Jongdae rolls his eyes, shaking his head and watching his best friend with a pitying look. The elder already has his soulmate, he nearly blinded her the first time they met. Bae Joohyun is _so_ out of his league, but she can make noise dissipate, so it’s only fitting she can be the only one to actually shut Byun Baekhyun up.

“Did you not put it in your wallet?” he questions, grabbing onto the brunette’s arm and pulling him out of the way of traffic, people giving him annoyed sneers at his lack of attention.

“No, I meant to, I _swear_ but I used it last night to get back into the dorm. Fuck, why is my life like this?” Baekhyun whines, giving up and moving to put his backpack on making him swerve off the sidewalk to make sure he doesn’t get hit.

Baekhyun does end up hitting someone who tells him to watch where he’s going without even looking back. Jongdae shakes his head when his friend starts to pout, looking apologetic.

“Sorry!” Baekhyun shouts, hurting his ears and making him shove the elder along, shaking his head.

“Maybe Joohyunnie noona has your ID,” he comments, bringing his attention back to the real problem at hand.

Your student ID is your new friend, his Resident Assistant Kim Joonmyun had told him. You never know when you’re going to need it, so don’t you dare lose it. You need it to eat, to check out books, to get into the dorms, to basically _live_ on campus and Baekhyun has already misplaced his.

He can probably get a new one, but the fee isn’t going to be small, since they actually have to deactivate the old one. Jongdae realizes it’s a good thing Baekhyun can’t even drive yet, knowing he would probably lose his license card too.

“I hope so, she’s going to lecture me if I really lost it,” Baekhyun grumbles with a blush blooming on his cheeks.

Jongdae snickers, opening the door to the business building and ushering Baekhyun to go first. Joohyun is two years older than Baekhyun, and she’s basically his second mom in the form of a girlfriend. She even does his laundry because Baekhyun shrunk his clothes the first day they were here.

“Is noona going to put you in time out?” he questions, cackling before rushing into the classroom and beaming at being the first person there.

“What kind of nerd even wants to be first for lecture? Kiss ass,” Baekhyun grumbles, shoving him towards the right side of the room.

Jongdae rolls his eyes, unbothered because he wants the first pick of a seat for all his lectures if he can help it. He needs a seat by the window, because the sunshine helps keep him focused and he needs to be close to the front, so that way the professor will actually remember his face, even if he doesn’t speak up much in class.

“I’m excited,” he whispers, giddy as he takes out his laptop and makes sure he has his charger with him.

“ _Nerd_ ,” Baekhyun replies, taking the seat next to him, sitting his backpack down and resting his head on it. “I hate you for making me take a class this early,” he comments with a yawn, “I could be sleeping in, like normal people,” he adds on.

“If you take classes in the morning, you finish before the day has even really started,” he replies, asking Jongdeok for handfuls of advice on classes before he set up his schedule.

His brother graduated last year, so he’s not here anymore, but he gave him advice on everything, from the cafeteria to the parties to avoid. Jongdae only hopes he can manage to keep his grades up and search for his soulmate for the next four years he’s planning on being here.

“Which means you have the rest of the day to search for _The One_ ,” Baekhyun replies, using air quotes and everything. “Which isn’t even a guarantee, you know that right?”

Jongdae frowns, giving the elder a small glare. “I _know_ ,” he replies seriously, not liking to think about it. He knows deep down that some people just never find their soulmates, never get the powers that come with it, but that won’t happen to him, he’s had himself convinced since the sixth grade.

“Look, I just don’t want you to get hurt over something that’s not guaranteed, okay?” Baekhyun sighs out, sitting up and messing with his hair while other students start slowly walking into the lecture hall.

“I know,” he replies quietly, shaking his head and going back to messing with his laptop, not going to let Baekhyun’s words bring his mood down. “But if you want to eat lunch you should really find that ID,” he adds on, giving his best friend a grin before laughing.

 

⚡⚡

 

The first week of classes goes well, but Jongdae’s already got a paper due in two weeks and a presentation the following Friday, so he’s busy. It’s a lot, especially since he can’t take a lot of courses devoted to his major just yet. He wants to get his core courses taken care of first, which involves labs and actual math classes.

He hates math, but he’s okay at it so he doesn’t have to worry too much. But his botany course is a bit ridiculous if you ask him. He doesn’t see how any of it relates to anything other than being a plant specialist or something later on in life. His lecturer is nice, but Jongdae’s convinced he only owns five shirts and is probably growing things that might not even be legal.

The one class he really enjoys is his introduction to art history course, loving the little facts and artwork he gets to learn on a daily basis. It’s another class he has Baekhyun with and he sits in the back of the lecture hall, just because there are so many people and the screen his lecture gets shown on looks better from a distance.

Every time the lights go out Baekhyun lets out a little glow because he’s still childish and still wants to make people laugh. Currently they’re learning about paleolithic era art, which involves a lot of simple looking animals on walls and weird figurines.

Jongdae is dutifully taking notes and adding his own little doodles along with his notes for reference, smiling sadly to himself. He got a text this morning from his little cousin that he found his soulmate, a blonde girl named Seulgi, and he got his powers along with it. Apparently, he can teleport, or so he calls it, and it’s _fun_.

Jongdae is happy for his baby cousin, or he wants to be happy for his cousin, but he’s also bitter. Even his youngest cousin already has his soulmate and well, Jongdae is still soulmate-less with no powers. He’s the only one left in his small family now, since Jongdeok found his soulmate two years ago.

He’s always been optimistic and he knows he’s only eighteen, he has _so much more_ time to find his person, but sometimes he worries that he’s the black sheep of the family and he doesn’t have anyone to even find. There are billions of people on earth and statistically, he’ll be one of the lucky ones if he does find his soulmate, and he’s always clung to that hope.

But each time someone finds their soulmate, he’s only reminded that it’s not a guarantee for him. With a sigh, he looks up at the professor, listening to her drone on about their first exam in two weeks and that they should be making sure they keep up with the notes and start preparing for it.

Jongdae packs up his things and waits patiently for Baekhyun who needs to use the restroom. The elder has his chemistry lab next, while he gets to go home and rest for the rest of the day. Baekhyun’s lab partner apparently can control fire, so lighting a Bunsen burner is ten times easier than their high school chemistry course, but he’s also a klutz so Baekhyun has decided he shouldn’t wear anything he doesn’t want to accidentally catch fire.

Jongdae hums as he looks over the bulletin board with flyers tacked onto it messily. There are some about art clubs, scholarships, study abroad trips, even art exhibits nearby. Once he’s done looking over the bulletin board he walks around the area, liking the artwork they have hanging up that is apparently done by the art majors.

He’s trying to figure out one painting when he hears a loud noise followed by cussing from behind him. He frowns, looking around and spotting someone picking up fallen books and papers and shoving them into a black backpack.

“Hey Jongdae, do you think my lab coat is flame retardant?” Baekhyun questions him, making him twitch and turn around to see his best friend all dressed up for lap. He’s wearing an old shirt with their high school mascot on it and black sweat pants that are faded into a charcoal grey.

Jongdae shrugs, “They should be?” he replies before turning back around, watching as the person starts exiting through the doors and feeling bad that he didn’t just go over and help him pick his stuff up.

“Honestly whoever is this dude’s soulmate must have done something horrible in a past life, he’s literally a walking fire hazard,” Baekhyun grumbles, shaking his head as the exit the art building.

Jongdae bites back a comment of _at least he has a soulmate_ and instead listens to his friend rant about how dangerous it is to even have him in the chemistry lab. He honestly just wants to go back to the dorm and watch movies and mope in bed, but he really needs to start making notecards for their art history exam.

“You okay?” Baekhyun questions him, snapping him out of his thoughts.

He nods, plastering a smile on his face, “Yeah, just thinking about what I want for lunch today,” he lies, shrugging and adjusting his backpack.

“Wanna grab burgers when I’m done with lab?” Baekhyun questions, pulling his phone out of his pocket when a chime goes off signaling he has a message. The elder starts glowing when he reads over it, _literally_. Meaning it’s probably a text from Joohyun.

“Unless you have plans with your Bae,” he comments, smiling at his own pun and getting ignored as Baekhyun starts replying.

“She’s bringing me a bento box, actually, so um, maybe dinner?” Baekhyun asks, looking apologetic and Jongdae sighs but nods his head, keeping the smile on his face so his best friend doesn’t feel bad.

It happens a lot more than Baekhyun probably realizes, but he can’t blame the elder. She’s his soulmate and they’re just _drawn_ to each other. Jongdae’s read explanation after explanation, from atoms when the universe was created to a person being split into two. Whatever the reason is, soulmates are just two people who _belong_ together.

Twin flames, red strings, two souls, whatever you wanted to call it, it was all the same. Two people just meant to be together.

It’s hard to know that he may not even have one out there, or if he does he may not ever meet them. He knows that he can live a perfectly normal life with no powers and no soulmate. He can settle down with someone else just like himself and they can be happy.

But there’s always going to be that lingering doubt of him not being able to even be _happy_ with someone that wasn’t meant for him. Being a romantic at heart, it’s even worse. He’s built his entire future around finding his soulmate and living happily ever after with them.

It won’t be the end of the world if he never finds them, but he’ll always feel like something is missing, which will technically be correct.

He tries not to let it get to him for the second time that day though, and tells Baekhyun dinner would be fine and then waves his friend off. He goes back to their dorm and lets himself mope a little by putting his pajamas back on and then gets his index cards out and his favorite pen and starts his studying preparations.

 

⚡⚡

 

Days turn into weeks and weeks turn into months and before he knows it Jongdae is already on his way to completing his first semester of university. It’s been challenging but he’s made it to finals and since he’s exempt from two of them, he only has two he needs to study for.

Finals are next week and he’s already got all his flashcards and notes ready for studying but today he’s letting himself relax a little bit. He’s at wingstop with Baekhyun and several of their friends, which includes Joohyun and Jongdae is happy to be around other people that are soulmate-less.

Although he adores his best friend and his girlfriend, they can be a pain to be around when they start actually acting like a couple. He’s been a third-wheel for so long he feels grateful that Sooyoung and Yixing are single just like he is.

He’s spent his entire first semester joining any club that fits with his schedule, attending countless parties and seminars on campus, even going as far as to download _tindr_ , in search of his soulmate. He went on five dates that ended up being duds before he called it quits, hoping that he would just meet his other half the old fashion way.

Each and every day that passes without so much as a spark between him and another person he feels his optimism being drained. He knows it isn’t healthy to be this obsessed with finding the one, but watching Baekhyun and Joohyun communicate with a simple look has his romantic heart, breaking that he can’t share that kind of connection with someone.

He’s confided in his mom about it, he talks about it with Sooyoung and Yixing too, and they all understand and tell him he’s still young. He knows he’s being impatient, being only eighteen, but he wants to spend majority of his life with his soulmate and the older he gets the less time he’ll have with them.

Sometimes when he can’t sleep he thinks about how maybe he won’t meet his soulmate until he’s old and on the brink of death, and that terrifies him more than not having one at all.

“End of the semester party on sorority hill next Friday, do you guys wanna go?” Sooyoung questions before sipping on her water and looking down at her menu with a contemplative look.

Jongdae shrugs, knowing after his last two finals he’s going to be completely drained and will want nothing more than to sleep for several hours and then eat a bunch of junk food. He isn’t a huge fan of parties, although he does enjoy being with his friends. But knowing how the sororities and fraternities on campus party, he’s tempted to sit that one out and wait for something with less people.

“If Joohyun goes, I’ll go,” Baekhyun replies diplomatically, smiling brightly at his girlfriend who is opting out of looking at a menu and instead is reading over her notes for her upcoming final. The elder gives her boyfriend a small smile before going back to her task.

“I’ll let you know if I’m in the mood,” Joohyun tells the younger girl, giving a light shrug.

“What about you Jongdae oppa?” Sooyoung questions, looking at him curiously. “There’s going to be a lot of people there. You might meet someone,” she adds on, giving him a small smile that he has to force himself to return.

There are going to be at least a hundred people there, but he’s honestly so tired for getting his hopes up only to be disappointed. If it were the beginning of the semester he would have immediately said yes, but it's been _four months_ at university, meeting tons of new people and nothing to show for it. So, he hesitates.

“I’m not sure, there’s a movie showing on the quad, I was thinking of going to that,” he replies easily, remembering seeing a poster about it in the mens room somewhere on campus. It’s on a Friday night and right after finals, he doubts a lot of people will even show up and then he can just bail and go home.

“Aren’t they showing weird old black and white movies? Since when are you into that?” Joohyun questions accompanied by a concerned frown.

Jongdae shrugs, trying to seem nonchalant about a blatant lie and looking at his menu even though he already knows what he wants because he gets the same thing every time.

“There’s nothing wrong with the classics,” he replies, actually _hating_ black and white movies because they always look so dull. “They’re having free food, so I can go there and maybe meet you all at the party if it turns out to be a dud,” he mumbles, lying through his teeth but smiling regardless.

“If you say so, the party will have plenty of people, so you’ll really have to search for us if you show up late,” Yixing comments quietly, sipping his water afterwards.

“Yeah, you know how sorority hill parties are,” Baekhyun adds in, setting his menu down and staring at him with wide eyes. “Last time I showed up late it took me a whole hour to find Hyun ah,” he states seriously.

“I only found him because he was glowing dramatically,” Joohyun mumbles, startling when the waitress comes back and asks if they’re ready.

Jongdae nearly rolls his eyes, "I'll think about it," he says with indecisively.  

 

⚡⚡

 

Friday night brings him to the university quad, a grassy field in the middle of campus surrounded by different building and sculpture. There’s an inflatable screen set up where he assumes they’ll display the movie. Like expected there aren’t that many people, a small group of friends already sitting down with plates of pizza and others scattered around.

Jongdae sighs, telling himself he’ll grab some pizza, stay until fifteen minutes into the movie and then bail and go back to the dorm. Baekhyun probably won’t be back at the dorm tonight, since he was meeting Joohyun at the party. He’ll probably go back to her place for the night, so he can mope in peace at least.

He walks over towards the tables set up, with chips and popcorn and pizza, and grabs a plate. He settles with plain cheese and pours himself some chips. He grabs a red solo cup and contemplates what he wants to drink, deciding on sprite and then moving to sit down. He picks a spot that’s more dirt than grass and then slowly starts to eat his pizza.

He feels a little bit like a loser when realizes most people came in at least a small group of friends. But he ignores everything around him and eats his pizza, checking his phone and getting a flood of text messages in the group chat telling him they’re heading to the party right now and to text or call them if he decides to go. He contemplates it, eating his crust and looking around, feeling miserable. He could go for some cheap alcohol at the moment so he gets up, being as discreet as possible as he makes his exit and starts walking towards the south side of campus.

It’s not too cold, but it’s still chilly enough that he tugs on his hoodie and pulls his hood up to block the wind. He’s not really dressed for a sorority party, in a hoodie and skinny jeans, but he supposes no one will really care at this point. It’s the end of finals, most people are just showing up for the alcohol and music anyways.

Once he finally makes it close enough he can already hear the noise and loud bass of the music. There are other people heading towards the hill and he supposes he really should text or call Baekhyun or Yixing, but he doesn’t really feel like being around his friends right now. He just wants to go, get buzzed enough, and then head back to his dorm to sleep it off.

He treks up the hill and goes towards the house of the sorority whose name he doesn’t care to remember. He walks in and is immediately overwhelmed by the noise and the amount of people. It would be impossible to find Baekhyun in the sea of people, even if he wanted to. He’ll make sure to use that as an excuse if they manage to spot him at any point.

He makes his way towards where the drinks are, contemplating if he wants beer or the jungle juice that’s inside a giant tub. It’s probably unsanitary, even if the alcohol is supposed to kill germs or whatever Baekhyun said, so he settles with a beer. He reaches towards the pack that’s sitting on the table along with all the other bottles of liquor and then moves towards the kitchen, knowing there’s bound to be food in there.

He sips on his beer and heads towards the chip bowl, reaching in the same time as someone else and accidentally grabbing their hand making him flush and instantly let go when the person lets out a loud curse. Jongdae feels something push him backwards and makes him stumble and fall flat on his butt, confusion taking over when he looks up to see a guy around his age nursing his hand with a glare on his face.

“Did you just _shock_ me?” the other male questions, giving him a confused angry look that has him flushing, his heartbeat feeling a bit erratic that he should probably worry but he doesn’t feel worried. He feels… _content_ …a pleasant buzz going through his veins that he can’t quite describe.

“It was an accident?” he replies in confusion, not moving to get up because he thinks he might be in shock, ironically. “You _pushed_ me,” he comments, blinking up at the other boy and taking in his appearance.

He has short black hair and a dark plush jacket on accompanied with dark grey sweat pants. He looks more underdressed than him and that’s saying something.

“I didn’t push you,” he replies sternly, giving him a questioning look before letting out a sigh and holding a hand out so he reaches to grab it, except it happens _again_ and this time Jongdae _sees_ the sparks that have the boy immediately recoiling with another loud curse.

Jongdae stares, finally realizing what’s going on probably around the same time the other male does because he stops glaring and just stares right back at him.

“You know my mom told me I would feel sparks, but I didn’t think she meant _literally_ ,” the boy states, making him laugh and feel like he might start crying, which must show on his face because the other male is immediately reaching down to grab his arms and help him up. “You okay?”

Jongdae nods mutely, sniffling a little which makes his soulmates face scrunch up a little bit with worry. But he sucks those tears back in, not wanting to freak his soulmate out this quickly.

“Just been waiting a while for you, that’s all,” he mumbles, clearing his throat and giving the slightly shorter male a smile. “I’m Jongdae.”

“Kyungsoo, your soulmate I guess,” Kyungsoo replies, shrugging slightly and then giving him a half smile. “Your hair is sticking up and you look ridiculous,” he snorts out, reaching over and hesitantly running his hands through his hair. Jongdae immediately flushes, feeling his lips twitch into a smile when apparently Kyungsoo gets shocked again, but instead the other male just pouts and continues attempting to smooth his hair.

“You’re going to be a handful, aren’t you?” Kyungsoo sighs out, shaking his head and giving him a fond smile.

Jongdae shrugs, “I guess kissing you right now is out of the question,” he replies back with a frown, not wanting to see if he’s going to continue shocking Kyungsoo. He’s going to have to figure these powers out soon.

“ _Kiss_ me? Shouldn’t you buy me dinner first?” Kyungsoo questions incredulously, grabbing his hand and wincing again, “Okay, definitely have to invest in rubber gloves with you.”

“I’ll learn to control it! I promise!” he chirps, practically vibrating as Kyungsoo pulls him out of the kitchen and towards the exit, shoving his way through people who end up getting pushed aside easily by some sort of force or something, Kyungsoo looks equally as confused as him but shrugs it off and keeps moving. It certainly helps them get out of the house and into the front yard where it’s a whole less loud.

He supposes waiting eighteen years and then literally falling for his soulmate was worth it. So he can wait a little longer to figure out his powers so that way the only sparks either of them will feel when they finally kiss will be figuratively.

"So, dinner?" Kyungsoo questions, looking at him with a small smile that Jongdae is never going to get tired of seeing. 


End file.
